I Stand Corrected

I want to thank Dave over at Hot Under the Collar for setting me straight. I inadvertently misquoted the pastor at my church when I wrote this entry. It was not Phillip Gulley, but Phillip Yancey he quoted.

Thanks Dave. I stand corrected and I appreciate the close reading of my blog.

Reformation Day

I have often what was going through Martin Luther's mind on October 30, 1517, the night before he nailed his 95 Theses to the Wittenburg Cathedral's front door. Do you think he knew what would happen? Any of the histories I've read of the opening moments of the Reformation always seem to say that Luther had no intention of starting a new religion, he just wanted to "reform" the Catholic church. I wonder, though, if somewhere in his mind he knew exactly what was going to happenL and explosion of ecumenical thought and reconoitering.

What thoughts did he have as he nailed that sheet of paper to the door. I have a feeling it was something to the effect of "whelp, that's that." And then he put away his hammer and clapped hs hands together to clean them, stepped back to look at his carpentry and then slipped back through the crowd.

Here's some Reformation Day links.

What exactly is Reformation Day?

What You Do, Do Quickly has some thoughts on ye olde Reformation Day. In this one he comments on Lutherans' identity. Reformation glee, I like that he uses the word "glee." I have often heard of Lutheran "guilt," but one doesn't often hear of Lutheran glee. Then there's Dan the football guy, over at Necessary Roughness who weighs in this post a great CliffNotes run down of Reformation Day and why it is important.

It was nice to have common cup communion today. I love it when a month has five Sundays. Today's communion was very special for a couple of reasons. They dedicated a new communion set. The set was given in memory of woman that was killed exactaly one year ago today in a car accident. She and her husband were on their way to a community Reformation Day observation service when their car was t-boned by a police car on its way to lend assistance to a high speed chase. Her husband was badly hurt, but survived.

We had some good "barn burning" hymns in church this morning and of course we sang A Mighty Fortress which of course is (as Dr. Middendorf, a former professor of mine at Con-You, Austin used to call it) Luther's greatest hit. I don't know about that, but I still think it is hard to sing. I like the tune, the words are wonderful, but I think its just hard to sing.

I have taken the day off tomorrow. I decided a few years ago that I thought Reformation Day counted as a religious holiday, so, I take it off every year. I read the 95 Theses and dip into one of Walther's books. I think this year I'll take a look at Law & Gospel. I also must confess, though, that I do at some point during the day have a beer, or two, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther. It seems only appropriate.

Playbook Tour Part II

I decided to take you on a tour of my Bible here is the first part.

This is the inside of the front flyleaf. On top is my Confirmation Verse, John 10:27-28.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.

. For the longest time I didn't know my Confirmation verse. I found it quite by accident a few years back and I thought that it fit me pretty well.

The second verse written in block letter is 2 Thes.2:14: " He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." But, actually the whole section is worth putting in here:

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

To the right of the 2 Thes. quote is another that I wrote from 2 Cor5:7. It says "We live by faith, not by sight." These verses really seem to fit in with my thoughts and feelings about faith.

Under the 2 Thes. quote is a confession of faith I found somewhere in a bulletin somewhere along the way. And below that 1 Sam 3:4: "Then the Lord called Samuel." And then scrawled on bottom right corner this: "Did I learn this today or do I believe it?" For a while in college I was fighting with the difference between knowing something and believing something. I came to the conclusion that it was better to believe something than to know it. If I knew something it could probably be proved that it was wrong. Believing something was a much stronger thing. I don't quite remember the whole thought process behind it now, but at the time it made a lot of sense.

This is one of the most important parts of my Bible to me. This has been a lot of work for me. All these written down verses are verses that have really grabbed me as I've done my Bible readings. If they are highlighted or circled in red they really mean something to me. 2 Cor 12:1-10 is a biggie for me. We all have thorns... and man, do they hurt!

I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say.
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

This the page after the one above. I haven't done much to this one, yet, I'm actually kind of saving it because I'm sure my list of "important verses" will overflow the other page. However, there are two things that I need to point out. The only language I have ever actually been able actually grasp to the point of feeling somewhat comfortable with it (aside from English, that is, and that is probably suspect) is Hebrew. I don't know why, it might of been the professor I had when I was in the sem, but I think it just made sense to me. The little scrawl in the upper left corner says YHWH Shalom. It is from Judges 6:23, it means "The Lord is Peace." That is such a wonderful phrase. The other one is from Ezekiel 48:35-- YHWH SHAMAH. "The Lord is there." Another wonderful phrase. If I ever get a tattoo (which I doubt seriously) it will be that phrase in Hebrew on my left arm.

There's that YHWH Shamah, again. I guess I really dig that one. I have to "refresh" that one every once and awhile with a Sharpie marker. This one the outside front of my Bible. On the pages.


This one is on the top of my Bible. Isiah 7:9(b) rocked my world the first time I read it. I think it was the first verse I wrote on the outside of my Bible.

If you do not stand firm in your faith,
you will not stand at all.’

. I remember having a "wow" moment when I read that for the first time. Really shook me in a good way. One has to have that rock under their feet. It has to be firm. You can only stand so long on a soft mushy place, or a slippery surface, but stand on a good solid rock, or concrete floor... you're there forever. You're not moving. Same thing here. Put your faith in Jesus Christ and you're not getting moved, buffetted, maybe, perhaps even knocked over once or twice, but you're still standing strong. Yeah, Is 7:9(b) is a big deal for me.

And then, finally, is this view. This is from the bottom of my Bible. Psalm 66:16-20:

Come and listen, all you who fear God;
let me tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened;
19 but God has surely listened
and heard my voice in prayer.
20 Praise be to God,
who has not rejected my prayer
or withheld his love from me!

This is one of those "boo-yah" verses. Everytime I read this I just get this incredible smile on my face and feel like dancing with joy. The other verses I have highlighted are Psalm 109:9 "I am a man of prayer." 1 Thes. 2:5(b) "...God is our witness." And then, last, but certainly not least: Is 30:20,21.

Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

Indeed.

Lutheran Carnival IX

Teresa K. over at Be Strong in the Grace has done a bang up job on the Lutheran CarnivalIX. Speaking of the Lutheran Carnival Dan over at Random Thoughts needs some volunteers to host the Carnival. Let me tell, if you've been thinking about doing it, it is a blast! I've volunteered to do two more if Dan'll let me.

So, props go to Teresa K. She did a fantastic job.

Blessings to all.

Loof

Play Book Tour

(note: click on the images for bigger view. it might help)
Today, when I got home from work I had a sudden idea. I thought it would be fun to show all my cyber-Loofrin friends the inside of my Bible. That probably sounds funny and maybe a bit strange, but my Bible is very personal to me and I have worked very hard on it. I have never liked seeing pristine clean bibles, particularly if they are often read. I've never understood it when I flip through someone's bible and not see a single solitary note or underlining. I have always held to the "read, mark, and inwardly digest" aspect of Bible study. The first picture is from page 1898 of the Concordia Self-Study bible. It is James 1. I read James often, there is something about the book of James that really speaks to me. I probably should of scanned in James 2. That has some serious highlights, notes, and underlines.

Reading the bible is more than just sitting down and reading. It is one of the lines of communication from God to me, and my notes, underlines, arrows, and highlights are my way of conversing with him. They also are "landmarks" or "road signs." When I go back and reread a particular section I often reread the comments I left the last time I read. This helps me remember what I was feeling at the time or what I was thinking. And sometimes its good to reconnect. Call it a "journal" if you will. My father keeps a daily journal, he has for the last 53 years. Every day, religiously. I don't necessarily keep a daily journal, but I do keep write these notes as a reminder and a marking of being there before.

The next picture is the inside front cover of my Bible. I call it the "collage." It is mainly things I've picked up along the way. The "peace be with you" and the figure in the upper left corner came from a bulletin from a church service. The little purple sign came from some one I worked with at camp my first summer. It says: "The task ahead of you is never as great as the power behind you." I don't know if you can read the little hand written not on the far right side near the top. It says "we are Jesus action figures." Someone said that in a Bible study I attended one time and I thought it was just kind of cool. I think we were talking about missions or something along those lines. The "GIVE CALLHOON DA BALL" refers to a fireside nighttime devotion I gave one summer. The hand written note next to it says "Christianity is more about a full heart than a crowded head." That is a quote from Rev. Richard Noak who was the Senior Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Klein, Texas. See that yellow PC? That doesn't mean "politically correct," but it asks me if I'm meant to Preach Christ or Plant Corn. When I was stuggeling with the "call" a pastor friend told me a story that asked that question? Are you supposed to Preach Christ or Plant Corn? I ask myself that daily.

Yes, you do see duct tape, I duct taped the binding of my Playbook because it was getting weak and frayed...

Under the PC is another hand written note that says "To be saved... is nothing more than to be delivered from sin, death,and the Devil and into the Kingdom of Christ and live with him forever." That is a quote from page 439 of the Book of Concord (the Tappert edition). I just thought that was a beatiful way of looking at salvation. Again, a nice neat package. Something I can wrap my brain around.
The little hand written note under "calhoon" says "Do you have faith in your faith? Faith is as faith does." Next to that is W5H of ChiRoh, or the "who, what, when, where, why, and how of Christ." That is something I came up with one day to explain to myself how faith works and builds. An example: as Christians we fall into the Heb. 11:1 aspect of faith. We believe what we haven't seen. As we grow in our faith we understand Who Jesus was, Where He did his ministry, What He was (i.e. Christ/Savior), When He lived (2000 years ago), Where He did his ministry, and How He willing gave Himself as a sacrafice for us.... but, at least for me, its the WHY that I always struggle with. . Because of the "why" I have the John 15:18, 19 written on the first end page it says:

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20 Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
26 “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

I also have John 17 written there, too:

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

One of my favorite quotes I have in here is the one in upper left hand corner. It says "The news of the Gospel is too good not to be be true." Rev. Norb Fernhaber said that one day in sermon. That just struck me as an amazing thought.

The things written there mean different things to me for different reasons. Down in the lower left corner is this phrase, I got it from the movie The Hurricane: "Hate put me in this prison; love is going to bust me out." I though that was a great Gospel message.

The other thing I want to point out is the yellow box in the right side. It has the verse Jerimiah 29:11-14:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

This verse helped me get through a serious faith crisis at one point in my college career.

So, my Bible is mine. I have made it my own.

I'd love to read about your playbooks and how you use them. Blessings

Thoughts on This Morning's Sermon

I was a bit concerned in church today. Durning the sermon the Senior Pastor quoted Phillip Gulley from the book What's So Amazing About Grace. Phillip Gulley is a Quaker minister from Indiana. Here is a synopsis from bn.com of the book mentioned in the sermon:
>

In What's So Amazing About Grace? award-winning author Philip Yancey explores grace at street level. If grace is God's love for the undeserving, he asks, then what does it look like in action? And if Christians are its sole dispensers, then how are we doing at lavishing grace on a world that knows far more of cruelty and unforgiveness than it does of mercy? Yancey sets grace in the midst of life's stark images, tests its mettle against horrific "ungrace." Can grace survive in the midst of such atrocities as the Nazi holocaust? Can it triumph over the brutality of the Ku Klux Klan? Should any grace at all be shown to the likes of Jeffrey Dahmer, who killed and cannibalized seventeen young men? In his most personal and provocative book ever, Yancey offers compelling, true portraits of grace's life-changing power. He searches for its presence in his own life and in the church. He asks, How can Christians contend graciously with moral issues that threaten all they hold dear?

I have never read the book quoted in the service, but I have read If Grace is True. And I almost couldn't get through it. I argued with the authors the whole way through the book. Here's why (again, taken fro bn.com):

Ordained pastors with backgrounds in traditional Protestant denominations, Gulley (Home to Harmony) and Mulholland (Praying Like Jesus) are now Quaker ministers and Universalists who believe that God will in fact save every person and banish no one to the fiery furnace. For every scriptural passage promoting "an eye for an eye," they counter with as many advocating "turn the other cheek." Jesus is deemed Lord and Savior, but his blood was not spilled to expiate human sins. As for the concept of free will-that is, each of us has to choose between accepting and rejecting God, thereby sealing our own fate-they argue that it is not up to us to choose salvation; God has already chosen to save everyone. Do the authors argue convincingly that each of us will end up in "heaven"? Yes. Will they convince all readers that there is no "hell" reserved for the likes of Hitler and Saddam Hussein? Probably not. Still, even those who believe in the absolute inerrancy of the King James version of the Bible will find something here to encourage them to rethink beliefs they have held for years.

(You should go here and read the reviews...)

Gulley's views on faith don't square with Lutheran Confessions. Grace is given freely, but through faith, not just because I'm a good person. That was hammered into my skull again and again after reading the Apology of the Augsburg Confession. No matter how you spin it, we recieve grace through Christ through faith. Its that simple. Gulley has totally gutted the Christian faith in his zeal to be "inclusive" and "universalist." He has taken Christ out of the equation.

*Correction* oops, I messed up. Thanks to Dave for finding and alerting me to it.

Just Bein Silly

My blog is worth $11,290.80.
How much is your blog worth?